I was trying to cast a spell at my alter to heal an injury, I drew a pentagram on a peice of paper, and inside that pentagram, I wrote the spell, "Panacea, Healer of the weak, I invoke thy powers, Heal this wound, as it is thy will, so mote it be" I chanted that for a few minutes then lit it ablaze on a candle that I lit, I sat it in my glass bowl with a pentagram at the bottom, the flame began to turn a bright color of blue and green, then when it was fully ashes, wind, somehow in my house(lol) blew them away, of course they landed on my carpet, but hey, I just posted this incase anyone else wants to try it, I cast this a weak ago, and my scar is completely gone.

Personally I would not call this a spell. It is more like a prayer or request to the Goddess to help you.

Here's the way I normally explain the difference.

In a prayer we turn to the Gods and request their help in making the world take the shape we desire. In this case you asked Panacea to heal your scar if she would. To me that would put this particular working more in the prayer category.

In spellwork we use our own energy and the energy all around us so that we can shape the world as we desire. We don't need the intervention of a God or a Goddess to accomplish our goal. Since you weren't drawing and directing energy on your own but rather counting on the help of Panacea I would say that this working you did would not fall into the category of being a spell.

When invoking the aid of the Gods in something that you desire I would suggest that you don't simply plug and play a God or Goddess as if they were ingredients in a spell. They are Divine beings after all and that would be highly disrespectful. That's why it is often recommended that you develop a relationship with the Deity on whom you wish to call for aid. That way when you call on them they will recognize you and feel an obligation to aid. Think of it this way, if a child needs something are they more apt to get help if they go up and tug on the coat of a random stranger or if they go tug on the coat of their parent? Our relationship with our Gods is much the same.

As I said in my post, spells do not require the aid of a God or Goddess. They operate strictly on the energy raised by the magic user.

Prayers come when we ask or invoke the Divine to aid us. You mentioned that you felt the difference is that in a spell you command...well we never command the Gods. They aid us or they don't as they wish. So by your definition of a spell being based on commanding then a spell would never include calling on the Gods for aid because one doesn't command the Gods.

You may very well get the same results either way, but how you get there is a different process.

-Lark-

Note that I'm not trying to harsh towards the OP in this thread. I am trying to help them understand better how magic works so that they can become more talented at spellwork.

Undines of Water, Sylphs of AirGiveth us clouds and free us from despairShieldeth us from Salamanders' SunHear these words and have them done

*Power comes from you and the spirits; Will/Intentions and Actions come from you

Prayer - Example:

Our Father who art in Heaven, holy be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Ah, but in this case the OP said ""Panacea, Healer of the weak, I invoke thy powers, Heal this wound, as [b]it is thy will[/b]" so he is leaving things up to the will of the Deity, not his own will. Since magic is about changing the shape of the Universe to correspond to your own will then this is no longer magic, it is prayer.

There are some overlaps between prayer and spellwork and it is certainly possible to have a Deity intervene in a spell. But it is often a good idea to go with one or the other. For instance if your spell is worded like the one here so that it is the God/dess who is doing what they will you may not get the results you want...you get the results the Deity thinks you need. In that case it might be better to leave out the invocation of Deity and work solely with your own ability to do magic with a clear visualization of the outcome of the working.

And to say the truth, i almost never found a real spell than just a random chanting or a pray.

Even, this:

Undines of Water, Sylphs of AirGiveth us clouds and free us from despairShieldeth us from Salamanders' SunHear these words and have them done

Is not a spell but a pray again. What i see in spells as i see here is asking from someone/something to happen something but where is the use of your own energy? Where is the use of your own powers? Why should you always wait for others to do your work than you doing it?

I was reaserching for the real spells. Spells that i believe are in a mystical language, created from a higher beeing and not from a human. As i believe that in that language, the spells will be real spells and they will use your energy and power to do what you want and not ask for others to help you.

Spells with mystical words without a real meaning. What i want to say with that? A spell that dont just call a name of fire to use it but THE name of fire and the fire it self, so you use it in the way you want.

An example:

If you want to burn up a tree (FOR EXAMPLE ONLY! NOT THAT I AM GOING TO BURN UP A TREE) say the fire as it is said by the universe and not by a language of a human and make it obey to your will. Like (If fire is Riolak) "Riolak!" and so fire will appear. If you want to make use it with a certain way, then add more words or something.

That was what i was searching for, for months now and i could not find. That, is what i call magic.

Logged

A wizard is never late, nor his early, he arrives precisely when he means to.